It is well overdue, as I understand a scary percentage of children has no chance of learning those skills at home as their parents don't have any either.
You're so right there Gobs! Did you see Jamies' school dinners? Even the ladies diong the cooking in the school canteens couldn't cook simplethings like pasta dishes. all they ever did was chuck cheap burgers round and fry chips, til Jamies got a grip on them!!!!
I had cookery classes when I was at senior school, and my daughters did a bit, but it was never anything useful, One of the first things I was taught to cook was curried eggs. they were vile! All my girls were taught was mince pies and victoria sandwich. But I don't think many schools now do Home Economics!
I was lucky, my Dad was a brilliant pastry cook and his baking was superb. Mum was a bit hit and miss, my brother used to say he didn't know which was lumpier, her cabbage, gravy or mashed potato. she used to put bicarb in the cabbage water to keep the cabbage green, not realising that the bicarb took all the goodness out of the cabbage. Gravy was Bisto powder that went lumpy if you ddin't keep stirring it, and she used to mash the potatoes with a fish slice, well chop them up actually as she didn't like the masher!!!!
But as I enjoyed cooking with Dad, I carried on myself and found cooking in school really boring.
My 2 girls didn't like cooking, one of them still doesn't, and not many of the grandchildren do either. My youngest daughters youngest likes to do a bit with me when she's here, but her Mum worries about her cutting herself!!!!
Tonight's episode was upsetting, but as we have kept poultry on and off for sme tme, I'm probably a bit more hardened to it than some of you, but when I said to Brian about the way they throw the chicks out of the boxes, he said did I remember how they did it at the poultry show we went to once years ago? They chuck the day olds out of the boxes into a dump truck looking thing and go through the houses laying them out the back of it like a carpet of little yellow things.
Also someone said about them being cramped into those little boxes. That isn't cruel, some of those chicks have long journeys in front of them. The boxes are 2ft square and hold 100 chicks. The boxes are dividd into four compartments of 25 in each. they are packed in reasonably tightly so they don't get knocked around in transit.
Likewise, when you go to pick up your new chickens, don't take a huge box for 3 chooks, take one which is just slightly larger than the amount of chooks you want, as they will just lie down once the journey starts. Although ours did make quite a lot of noise on the way home, chirping all the way!!!!! Then they won't get injured, especially if you have to brake suddenly!